IJNet Live: How to build sustainable journalism models worldwide

by IJNet
Oct 30, 2018 in Media Sustainability
Examining newspaper

Media outlets around the world face increasing financial pressure, making it harder to maintain sustainable business models while continuing to produce accurate, reliable news. In addition, they are forced to compete for audience attention more aggressively against a growing list of platforms and apps.

The traditional models of funding journalism are struggling to adapt to this rapidly changing digital landscape.

What can your newsroom do to fill the gaps and find a business model that works in the long-term?

Join IJNet at 9 a.m. EST on Wednesday, August 8 for a live webinar on media entrepreneurship, sustainability and audience engagement in three key regions of the world: Latin America, the Middle East/North Africa and Asia Pacific.

Participants will be able to ask questions and get advice from Madonna Khafaja, MENA Lead for ICFJ; ICFJ Knight Fellow Fabiola Torres; Larry Ryckman, editor of The Colorado Sun, a Civil Newsroom; and Alan Soon, co-founder of The Splice Newsroom.

Interested participants can enter the chat here on the day of the event or ask questions on Twitter using the hashtag #IJNetLive.

During the chat, Khafaja, Torres, Soon and Ryckman will discuss:

  • New business models for journalism
  • Generating revenue as a nonprofit newsroom
  • Sustainability vs. independence: Finding the right balance
  • How journalists can get into an entrepreneurial mindset

The live webinar will be broadcast on Zoom at 9 a.m. EST on Wednesday, August 8. Register here to watch the webinar on Zoom. The webinar will also be streamed via Facebook Live on the IJNet Facebook page here.

This webinar is the first in a series of four webinars produced with support from Civil. Learn more about ICFJ’s partnership with Civil here.

About the speakers

Madonna Khafaja is the MENA Lead for the International Center for Journalists. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from the Lebanese American University and a Master’s degree in media studies and advertising. As IJNet Arabic editor and community manager, she edits, translates and publishes IJNet's Arabic-language content. She also conducts trainings on developing digital media startups, video shooting techniques and editing in the MENA region.

Fabiola Torres is an ICFJ Knight Fellow and co-founder and editor of OjoPúblico, an independent, nonprofit Peruvian newsroom known internationally for its award-winning investigative journalism. As an ICFJ Knight Fellow, Torres is strengthening journalists’ digital investigative reporting skills to improve coverage of corruption, transparency and governance issues in Latin America.
 
Larry Ryckman is editor of The Colorado Sun, one of the independent newsrooms launching in Civil’s First Fleet. He is a former Moscow correspondent, national editor and assistant managing editor for The Associated Press. He most recently was senior editor for news at The Denver Post; previous top editing gigs in Colorado Springs and Greeley.
 

Alan Soon is Asia’s leading expert on newsroom operations, digital transformation and building the new business of media. He also advises early-stage media-tech startups. He is the co-founder of The Splice Newsroom. The Splice Newsroom aims to be the hub of the editorial and media community in Asia — to inspire, build and support sustainable media businesses.

About Civil

Civil is the decentralized marketplace for sustainable journalism. Newsrooms focused on local, international, investigative and/or policy journalism are independently run on Civil. Civil is applying blockchain and cryptoeconomics to promote a reader-supported model that isn't reliant on advertisers or other third parties. This enables a more direct, transparent connection between citizens and journalists, and strengthens protections for journalists against censorship and intellectual property disputes. Learn more at civil.co.

Main image CC-licensed by Flickr via tedxlondon.